Skip to main content

stephen king - Is this a real quote from the Dark Tower series?


I found this line (attributed to Jake Chambers, and referring to the rest of his Ka-tet) in Bev Vincent's analysis The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus:



“I love them, but I hope I die before it gets me so bad it stops making any difference if the ones against me deserve [to die] or not.”



I've tried to find this passage in the books themselves (checking every instance of the word "love" in those books in which Jake appears) and on Google, with no success.


Does this passage actually appear in The Dark Tower series, and if so, where?



Answer





I contacted Bev Vincent, author of The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus. Here's what he had to say:



Jonah:


When I was writing The Road to the Dark Tower, I was working from the first draft manuscripts of the final three books. I received later drafts of books 5 and 6 in time to incorporate any corrections or changes King made to the quotes I had pulled from them, but I did not have the opportunity to see the revised MS of the final book before my book went to press. So there are several quotes from The Dark Tower in my book that do not reflect what was finally published. I’m pretty sure that’s the case here.


Bev



So Vincent suggests that this quote was from a pre-publication manuscript of The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. This seems most probable to me, since the quote is sufficiently dissimilar to any existing one to be misremembered, and Vincent probably wouldn't fabricate it.


This makes sense in the apparent context of the quote. Jake has just killed several people, but he spares the dish-washer Jochabim.




“North of there, if you do like it or if you don’t,” said the washerboy. “Will’ee kill me, lad? I don’t want to die, sad as I am.”


“I won’t be the one to kill you if you tell me the truth. Did a woman come through here?”


The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower



According to Vincent in The Road to the Dark Tower, his thoughts are that Roland, Eddie, and Susannah would have killed him without a second thought, thus prompting the quote:



“I love them [Roland etc.], but I hope I die before it gets me so bad it stops making any difference if the ones against me deserve [to die] or not.”



Certainly Jake seems a kinder character than Roland, so it seems likely this might have occurred in one of King's earlier drafts.


The quote is probably from the initial draft of The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more